Sony Playstation 3 launch details

Just in case you didn't manage to catch Sony's E3 presentation, or can't handle scrolling through our liveblog of the event (though we can't imagine why that would be the case), here's what you need to know about the PS3 launch, straight from the conference floor: "Today we're pleased to announce the global PS3 launch details. We will make PS3 available via a two-configuration plan. One with a 60GB HD. And the other with a 20GB hard drive. Japan's date: Nov. 11. In Japan 59,800 Yen. The 60GB PS3 will have an open price which retailers will set. In North America [to launch Nov 17]: 20GB for $499, 60GB for $599. Europe has 20GB for 499 Euro, 60GB for 599 Euro. 2 million to ship worldwide during the launch window. 4 million by end of calendar year 2006. By March 31, 2007 they'll have shipped 6 million worldwide." Any questions? Then start scrolling through the liveblog. You know you want to.

[SLy @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

Sony, you are a bunch of shameless disgusting rip-offs, even for you this is a new low.

[sameer @ Nov 13th 2006 1:42PM]

sony is awesome and the playstation 3 is awsome plus its the cheapest blue ray dvd player out did u know that and the ps3 will definitely beat the nintendo wii and sony u have outdone yourself and ive had a ps2 for more than 5 years and had no problems with it keep up all the great work with all your consoles and youll have the best graphics out on the ps2 excellent work sony.

[sameer @ Nov 13th 2006 1:41PM]

sony is awesome and the playstation 3 is awsome plus its the cheapest blue ray dvd player out did u know that and the ps3 will definitely beat the nintendo wii and sony u have outdone yourself and ive had a ps2 for more than 5 years and had no problems with it keep up all the great work with all your consoles and youll have the best graphics out on the ps2 excellent work sony.

[Gr1zz @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

Holy $$$ batman!

[Stu L Tissimus @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

C'mon, Sony. Completely ripping off Nintendo and not giving them any credit? That's just not cool. Especially when you do it the *DAY* before the Ninty press conference.

[ji @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

HUH!

[JMatt @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

$500

WOW

Lets see how low the Wii is first....

[festivalman @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

I was all set to be wowed by the presentation and was let down something serious. Unlike last year's E3, this one had horrible pacing and seemed incredibly boring. One got the impression that they had a couple of single A rated titles that was carrying this thing; a sharp contrast to last year.

[Patrick @ May 8th 2006 10:02PM]

W00t...
*starts saving*

[Kamalot @ May 8th 2006 10:03PM]

With a launch price like that, they lost a LOT of customers.

[thumbs @ May 8th 2006 10:03PM]

you could buy a hyundai for that price

[Apoco-Lips @ May 8th 2006 10:03PM]

why do Europe always get fucked in the ass with the highest prices?!?!

[Ed Van Lint @ May 8th 2006 10:03PM]

http://www.revolutionfanboy.com/2006/05/08/rumor-wii-to-sell-for-249/

[Kamalot @ May 8th 2006 10:05PM]

Where were the Killzone-2 level graphics we were promised?

This entire presentation was a dissapointment, especially the Wii-wannabe motion sensing controller.

The Dual-Shock is a deeply-flawed controller that is in a need of massive changes, not simply ripping off a tilt-sensor from Nintendo.

[netjamjr @ Nov 14th 2006 12:12AM]

Motion sensitivity has existed for a long time and has been used for computer to emulate wireless joysticks. It is in no way uniqe to nintendo. Furthermore the dualshock design is merely the culmination of the most prefered features of gamepads sold for computer use. Your statement is void

[Tiefighter @ May 8th 2006 10:05PM]

Any details on the Australian launch? Wikipedia has nothing.

[chip @ May 8th 2006 10:06PM]

anyone else notice they're charging $100 to upgrade to a 60gb hd? hard drive space hasn't cost that much since the nineties.. they should make the $500 60gb and the $600 120gb or something. or hell, drop the choice. just make it 60gb for $500. blah, that's ridiculous.

[Jasafar @ May 8th 2006 10:07PM]

I have a 360 now .. my next console will be a Wii. Screw Sony.

[bigshynepo @ May 8th 2006 10:08PM]

Thats BS, I'm from Canada and it is going to be about 20 bucks more up here after the exchange rate, Europe is paying 160 MORE per unit. DAMN, They should get an extra game or something for that profit margin.

OH YEAH, and everyone is forgetting that pretty much every retailer will ONLY SELL BUNDLES. So take you 600 bucks and add another 150 or so for bundles and protection plans.

I love the system Sony, but this'll hurt the wallet.

[ki11a-k @ May 8th 2006 10:09PM]

that is'nt a bad price considering how good the ps3 is.
its got gr8 graphic's, best games!!, motion sensing!!wot more do u need :D

and how come theres no launch date for europe ?

[OzzsCrss @ May 8th 2006 10:10PM]

Think about it folks.

$500-$600 is nothing. Seriously.

You're not just getting a game system, but a full entertainment experience. And computerr. And don't forget- the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market- thats also packed with Playstation goodness. It's more than just a game system and I think that for what they're selling it as, thats some cheap hardware right there......

[the_ninja @ May 8th 2006 10:10PM]

ripoff? fanboy...

how is it $600 equalivant for the 20 GB in Japan? :(

[Peter @ May 8th 2006 10:10PM]

indeed. Australia has an economy as well, so we'd like some release dates.

although, if everybody buys a ps3 at that price, the economys going to get a shock.

[Brian @ May 8th 2006 10:13PM]

Ooof. That's way way above where they needed to come in at.

It looks like the Xbox 360 won this round.

[sphrog @ Jun 23rd 2008 11:29AM]

Oh man, you mean I get to pay $500 for a bunch of racing games, pre-rendered cutscenes coupled with a poorly-imitated motion sensing controller shamelessly stolen from Nintendo? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?!?!!

I don't think there's been a single more self-damning presentation in the history of the show.

[John Hinds @ May 8th 2006 10:15PM]

Jesus christ, why do we europeons have to pay US�$160 more that everyone else?

Fuck you Sony.

[KD @ May 8th 2006 10:15PM]

Wow, $500-$600 will it at least come with a free game or two controllers? The racing game looked kinda interesting but not for $500-$600. I'll get an HD TV first before it.

[ki11a-k @ May 8th 2006 10:16PM]

i hear wot ur sayin "OzzsCrss"
the ps3 is so much and its price matches what you get
i can live with $500
and most of u are gonna buy it anywayz sooner or later

[rokorre @ May 8th 2006 10:16PM]

well . . . yeah 600 is alot . . . but when you think about it your getting alot of stuff in there i mean the blueray alone is going to be cheaper with a ps3 . . . you get that larg hard drive . . .
im willing to pay and pay i will on nov 17 + the protection plan of course for you know a year down the road :giggles:

and as for the motion controller . . . im happy . . . i think it will be really cool to see what people can do with it i do understand that its a 100% rip-off from nintendo but you know what . . . i dont really care becuae i will own a wii too . . . but to me making your system as cool as you can is worthy of respect. you dont hear people knocking car makers for stealing volvo's idea of the seatbelt lol . . . its shameless but i'll take what i can get for a better gaming experience
:-D

[Cartman @ May 8th 2006 10:17PM]

Ok, all you whining babies need to STFU.. you're getting the most powerful console on the market for 500$ and a BlueRay disk player. Knowing that a standalone will probaly cost 800+, I still can't figure out what all you wussies are crying about.
Go get your Wii's and your Xbox 1.5, the time for next gen is now!

[Dan @ May 8th 2006 10:18PM]

The key to the more expensive price is free online services. You no longer have to pay a yearly fee like XBLive.

[Camperton @ May 8th 2006 10:18PM]

who cares if they ripped off the motion sensing idea. Nintendo is not your nana.

[Someone @ May 8th 2006 10:18PM]

The PS3 is still the same price as the HD-A1 HD DVD player, but it plays BDs in 1080p, and it comes with a game system. Seems like a good deal to me.

[Apoco-Lips @ May 8th 2006 10:19PM]

"Wii to sell for $249?"
RE:Ed Van Lint + Jasafar

I think a xbox360 with all the games thatll be out by that time or a Wii at such a nice (but possibly too optimistic?) price: will out-trump a PS3 at that price.

Undoubtedly, HD via Blu-Ray look V nice: but xvid and divx bit-torrent d/l's are ad-free and weeks/months ahead of scheduled broadcasted in Europe - and pmps wony be coming with blu-ray drives anytime soon... ^_^

[vrf @ May 8th 2006 10:20PM]

I don't understand why they chose to rip off Nintendo--yet do it so badly. Now everyone will compare their shoddy motion-sensing implementation to Nintendo's Wiimote. They should have just left it out.

[Robotron @ May 8th 2006 10:21PM]

I wasn't even going to buy a Wii (/shudder), but this has inspired me to actually.
If Sony is trying to get on the Nintendo boat then that's where I want to sail.

The PSP was a bad experience for me, then the whole DRM thing...now this.

I wouldn't say they have ripped anyone off, but I will say they lack originality.
The only thing new they brought to the table was their "innovative" controller (how did he keep a straight face) and their live-like service.

How about something innovative Sony?
And that price is ugly. Face it people these are gaming systems and that's all we use them for.

[DacmonJ @ May 8th 2006 10:22PM]

Half of you guys crying about the $500 happily dished out $400 for an Xbox360 when the PS3 blows it away.

Check out how much a Blu-Ray drive goes for and then cry about how $500 is a rip-off.

Not to mention all the bashers who insisted the PS3 would be $800 to cover the cost of the blu-ray drive.

[sphrog @ May 8th 2006 10:23PM]

The people justifying the price point here seem to be assuming that any of us WANT a Blu-Ray player. And the whole "most powerful console" argument would have been more effective if the presentation had actually SHOWN OFF THE POWER OF THE HARDWARE, instead of a bunch of a mix of mostly tech demos and prerendered graphics.

[DudeLove @ May 8th 2006 10:24PM]

$500 seems reasonable. But I can see the price dropping after a 1/2 a year or so, Sony isn't that dumb, they really do plan on making a large profit even if they have to lower the price.

[OzzsCrss @ May 8th 2006 10:26PM]

Just some extra rambling but, what if Sony had the motion controls already developed before this? Obviously, they have to have had it in production because there are games already implementing its abilities. So there is a possibility that while Nintendo debuted their controller first, Sony may have already been working on their own without actually ripping Nintendo off. Possibility? I would say perhaps. But no matter what, nobody (and I mean NOBODY) has done more ripping off than Microsoft; and I think we can all agree on that one.

[Alex @ May 8th 2006 10:26PM]

Prices in Dollars:

Jap 20gb:- $535 (with tax?)
USA 20gb:- $499 (without tax)
EUR 20gb:- $635 (with tax)
UK 20gb:- $650 (with tax, assumed pirce of �350)

Jap 60gb:- Unknown
USA 60gb:- $599 (without tax)
EUR 60gb:- $760 (with tax)
UK 60gb:- $780 (with tax, assumed price of �420)

Ive assumed the UK price by converting the euro price to GBP and then adding a little extra which is the standard used by every single multinational company.

As usual European and UK prices have a markup which is much greater than the rate of Tax.

XBOX 360 games are $90 in UK
UMD Movies are $38 in UK

sigh

Wii here i come

[Apoco-Lips @ May 8th 2006 10:28PM]

xe.com

499.00 EUR = 633.052 USD
599.00 EUR = 759.897 USD

499.00 USD = 393.332 EUR
599.00 USD = 472.171 EUR

499.00 EUR = 70,736.68 JPY
599.00 EUR = 84,925.84 JPY

499.00 USD = 55,758.86 JPY
599.00 USD = 66,932.98 JPY

in fairness to Sony: European countries do pay more 'Value Added TAX' than N.America or Japan...

[Peter @ May 8th 2006 10:29PM]

i would not pay $700AUD for a 60gig video ipod, im afraid

[tiuk @ May 8th 2006 10:31PM]

You know, if it had been well priced, I probably would have given the PS3 a chance. No freaking way, now. By Nov 17th I'm willing to bet the 360 will have a nice price drop, their HD-DVD add-on will be out and reasonably priced, and there's always the Wii. I've had it with Sony's crap.

[aic007 @ May 8th 2006 10:31PM]

What has MS ripped off, making a game system? They were the first to put the hard drive in, first with the true live experience, their blade GUI, marketplace and GIANT console. SONY even stole that from them. Hey lets make a console that takes up all the space under the TV so that you can't fit another system, great idea!!! ;P

[Apoco-Lips @ May 8th 2006 10:33PM]

and theyre not using 1.8" HDD's in Playstations like they are in iPods - 2.5" / 3.5" cost a fair but less even to manufacturers

[dmac @ May 8th 2006 10:33PM]

for a blu-ray player + major system like this one...you'll be paying less than it costs to make...the games are what you should be whining about...any news on their prices???

[Sean @ May 8th 2006 10:33PM]

I am so exicited abt PS3. The price is high but you got a lot of feature, particularly blue-ray. $499 is not bad. Just imagine xbox360 with hd-dvd addon. How much will it be? Assuming $150 for hd-dvd drive, xbox360 will be $449 and $549. If $100, then will be $399 and $499. I doubt the addon will be below $100. So I think PS3 for $499 is a deal. I love the controller so much. Can't wait for it...Damn now is only May.

[GigermUnit @ May 8th 2006 10:34PM]

i told yall sony are money grabbing bastards i knew all along they sucked

[Chris @ May 8th 2006 10:34PM]

500$ for what? the da*n graphics look the same as first gen 360 games... and not to mention when this launches we'll have 360's for half the price and second gen games for it already rolling out... lets see buy a ps3 or buy 10 xbox360 games (gen2)

as for the bluray... wow if i want to see hd movies that bad i'll buy the darn hddvd addon for 100$ or 150$ that they'll end up charging to get them out the door

for a company in such financial trouble lets see how long they last doing a 400$ cut on the console i mean thats basically the hit they are taking what are they hoping for a 10 to 1 adoption rate on games?